The Divergent Effect of COVID-19 on Parents and Children Video-Game Usage

Using data collected across four time periods (once prior to the onset of COVID-19 and thrice after), we investigated the impact of the virus on video-game consumption at the household level. In particular, we found that COVID-19 impacted parents and their children differently. While parental video-game usage increased in line with the severity of the virus, as measured by case rates, children video-game usage did not. This resulted in a weaker relationship between parent and child video-game usage. We discuss potential explanations for this result. More generally, this result shows that COVID-19 did not have a monolithic impact on consumption at the household level.